Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy third Saturday of the month! Black History Month is flyinggg by, don’t ya think? Though the month is going by quickly, we still have some more features to highlight on the Black is Beautiful mini blog series – CREATIVES Edition! Part 3 is here, and the wonderful person who will be featured on the blog today is my good older sis from college, queen Arielsela! Let’s briefly get into my boast session about Arielsela before we delve into the interview.

Arielsela – where do I even begin in the recount of my beautiful memories with this amazing individual? I have so many. I initially met Arielsela during my freshman year of college. I remember joining the African Student Association (ASA), and she was one of the friendly faces that I quickly became acquainted with and made me feel more comfortable during my transition to college. Her aura was soooo warm, and I could just immediately tell that she was a person I wanted to become friends with. We share so many fun memories together, from being on ASA board, being on the West African dance team, attending museums and other artsy events, enjoying bougie brunches, and her walking for a fashion show I hosted during college as one of my fabulous models. I always looked up to her as a breathtaking individual with many talents and skills to offer this world, and look at her now executing them effortlessly! She is a STUNNING individual inside and out, and I am so excited to share her compelling story today on the blog!

Irene: What is your name/pronouns?

Arielsela: Arielsela Holdbrook-Smith (she/her/they/them)

Irene: Give us a quick synopsis of who YOU ARE! 

Arielsela: Hi! My name is Arielsela, and I am a Ghanaian-American artist and community health professional currently based out of New York City and originally from Los Angeles. Themes I’m interested in include storytelling, Afro-Diasporic expressions, social equity, collective healing, and the transdisciplinary integration of arts, media, and public health. I recently started taking my creativity seriously which has landed me back in school studying performance and interactive media (so take everything I just said and add a tech programming element)!

Irene: Choose three words that come to mind when you think of “Blackness”. Define each word in its relationship to “Blackness”. Why did you choose these three words?

Arielsela:

Ancestry  – So much of our modern cultures are rooted in a deep, rich history! We have a profound connection to our ancestors.

Energy – The Diaspora is so vast, Blackness exists in vibrant and varied expressions around the world.

Artistry – We are continuously creating, making something out of “nothing”, and challenging the workings of society.

Irene: What is the MOST beautiful thing about being Black to you?

Arielsela: The HUMOR. We are HILARIOUS, and I’m a person who loves to laugh. Our sense of humor is really top-tier around the Diaspora and our collective joy is incredibly powerful. 

Irene: Define “being a creative.” How has your experience been as a Black creative in your respective field/interest/passion thus far?

Arielsela: I think you’re a creative if you consider yourself one, but it’s also such an expansive descriptor. The things that usually stand out to me about creative folks are a desire to create and play with ideas, a desire to imagine and re-imagine what this world looks like and how we show up in it.

As a Black creative, so much of my creative practice is connected to culture and ancestry, and an exploration of intersecting experiences. As a Black public health creative, I like to engage in work that bends the traditional frameworks of public health and the arts, but it took me a while to find that intersection of disciplines because the two fields don’t necessarily talk about each other like that (in many academic and professional spaces, we know these conversations been had outside the ivory towers). At least coming up in school, public health spaces didn’t really delve into what arts and media could look like, and vice versa. So it’s been a journey of following a passion as it’s unfolding and as you’re just finding the language to even describe your inklings and intuitions. 

Moving to NYC to attend public health grad school, I definitely was looking to do more creative exploration. I met other Black creatives in the community health department, including my faculty mentor, and secured an arts in medicine internship with the hospital system within the first couple months, and the world of arts in public health started to really open up. The start of the pandemic ended my internship before my first big collab. I wish I could say I jumped into my creative bag but I was busy trying to be a global public health student in a global public health crisis (story for another day!!), but in the months post-grad applying for jobs, I landed a part-time position facilitating arts and mental health workshops for Black college students. I could really go on about how meaningful it was to connect with Black students from around the country, write some poetry together, build community, and vibe. And from there, I dove into the arts & public health intersection once again, particularly by going to conferences. It’s still a little niche, but a rapidly expanding sector. And Black creatives are honestly showing up and showing OUT over here! Are we ready to talk about the bi-directional arts to public health pipeline yet??

Irene: How did you get into the creative space? 

Arielsela: Completely by way of interest, honestly! For as long as I can remember, I’ve pursued creative spaces and opportunities for expression. It’s fun for me! The medium of choice has switched pretty often – between extracurriculars and just general hobbies, I’ve explored a variety of creative spaces from fashion to sketch work to poetry. Dance is one that has really stuck around but I don’t have a lot of formal training because dance classes don’t come cheap! Instead, I have early memories of my mom teaching my sister and me cultural dances at home that we performed at the school talent show. I also have my friends to thank for their encouragement and support, from taking me to my first open mics to attending shows I was involved in. 

Specifically with performance art, I got into it both out of interest and for personal growth. Despite struggling with performance anxiety, I’ve always really loved performance art for the ways it allows us to embody, express, and explore the range of human experience. Engaging in performance art often allows me a space to practice a lot of life lessons/growth points like honoring where my body/mind/spirit is at, being comfortable taking up space instead of playing small, and releasing fear of judgment, to name a few things! With that said, the nature of my performance work is typically collaborative and collective, and focused on the ways that it can foster community healing.

Irene: Tell us more about one of your favorite projects that you have worked on thus far. Why was this project meaningful to you, and what did you learn from this experience?

Arielsela: One project that I think about often is the Rikers Public Memory Project, which collected the oral histories of and in collaboration with people who were formerly incarcerated at or otherwise impacted by Rikers Island. The project aimed to create a narrative collection on archive at the New York Public Library and an interactive multimedia exhibit to continue to push for the closing of the Rikers Island prisons. I had the honor of transcribing the stories of people who were previously incarcerated at Rikers. Stories are so precious, particularly those that are typically silenced. I learned so much about the histories of mass incarceration and restorative justice frameworks; however, the stories really did impact me the most, and the disproportionate impact on the Black community weighs heavy. We cannot forget the atrocities people have experienced there for decades.  It was interesting to be a part of a multidimensional process that tapped into the power of narrative, arts, and population health for social impact. 

Irene: Any advice, gems, or words of encouragement for aspiring Black creatives? 

Arielsela: Don’t wait for permission or external validation before you start to create! If there’s an idea you have, actualize it! It can be scary to tell people your ideas, but sometimes that opens the door to some amazing opportunities and/or collaborations. Know that what you have to offer is valuable, and your voice is necessary! Don’t worry about making something “revolutionary” or “good”, just let your creative intuition take the lead. And don’t forget to enjoy the process of creating. Also! Document everything! Not just for public posting, make sure you have a personal archive to revisit.

Irene: What is one of your favorite songs that fits/exemplifies that Black is Beautiful?

Arielsela: Rush by Ayra Starr!

Irene: How can we support a fellow amazing Black creative like yourself? Do you have any projects, businesses, creations, etc. that you are working on currently that you would like to speak briefly about, drop below, and/or that we can support?

Arielsela: I am currently looking to expand my craft(s) and am open to aligned collaborations with other Black creatives and Afro-Diasporic arts, especially. And if anyone happens to know of any good learning/training opportunities in the realm of Afro-Diasporic movement and performance in NYC, please send them my way!

Working on documenting and sharing my current projects, so stay tuned!!

Irene: Can folks connect with you to learn more about you/support you? If so, please drop your social media info down below!

Arielsela:

IG: @sela.setta 

LinkedIn: Arielsela Holdbrook-Smith

Venmo: @Ariel-SHS

Irene: Anything else you want us to know about you or anything you want to share with the readers? Feel free to drop it down below!

Arielsela: Just that I appreciate their reading ❤ open to chats and thoughts, willing to share info/resources/learnings with others also exploring this area!

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Arielsela is soooo dope, my goodness. First of all, the relationship between the arts and public health and you paving the way for this niche, emerging practice area is incredible. I cannot say myself that I have deeply pondered on the intersection of the two. I love that you are carving out your own professional and personal path in this area of interest because the arts are so moving and so healing. I also believe it will challenge us to think unconventionally about health systems, beliefs, and customs. Your take on performance art to promote collective healing is touching, and I admire the reminder that it is an opportunity to take up space rather than shrinking yourself. Your role in the The Rikers Public Memorial Project sounds like a moving opportunity to highlight and augment the voices of the unheard and silenced. I am glad that you were put in that position to do so and further promote collective, community healing through your creative lens. Thank you for the gems that you dropped today on the blog because I find myself sometimes resorting to external validation to pursue creative ventures, which I should eliminate completely from my mindset!

As always, I am continuously uplifted and inspired by these features. Thank you, Arielsela, for showcasing your talents with us today on the blog. Don’t forget to stay plugged into the blog this month for more content on the Black is Beautiful mini blog series – CREATIVES Edition! Part 4 of the blog series, aka the LAST post (so sad!) will be here next Saturday! It will sneak up quickly, so don’t forget to keep up with the series by subscribing to Renrenspeaks.com and following the Renrenspeaks Instagram page for notifications and updates! Continue to let your Blackness shine unapologetically!

Peace and love,

Irene